It’s astonishing to think of the history hiding right beneath our feet, especially in London, a city nearly 2,000 years old. In Greenwich Park, you can still find remains of an underwater system possibly used as far back as the 1400s.
You may have already noticed two red brick structures in Greenwich Park that stand out from the greenery. These buildings were once integral to a hidden water network that served the area.
The discovery of this system is linked to Sir Christopher Wren, the renowned architect behind St Paul’s Cathedral and 52 churches rebuilt after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Wren also designed Greenwich Hospital, which is now the Old Royal Naval College.
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There’s still a plaque in the ‘Conduit House’ that proves its connection to the Greenwich Hospital
(Image: MyLondon)
The hospital was home to retired Royal Navy veterans, the Greenwich Pensioners. Obviously, the new building needed a reliable water supply, so Wren tasked his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor with devising a water delivery solution.
And it was Hawksmoor, also an accomplished architect, who uncovered a series of underground conduits in Greenwich Park. These conduits used gravity to transport water downhill.
One conduit structure, the Conduit House, still bears graffiti believed to date back to the 15th century, meaning that the network possibly served the Tudor Greenwich Palace in the 1400s.
Hawksmoor expanded the old system, reinforcing brickwork and constructing conduit houses to provide access to the network. The system included reservoirs to collect water, which was then carried in lead pipes down the hill.
The conduit building at the base of One Tree Hill is sealed, and now children use it to roll down
(Image: MyLondon)
Two elements of this network can still be seen: a sealed conduit building at the base of One Tree Hill and the Conduit House in the park’s northwest, near St. Mary’s Gate. The Conduit House still has a plaque that reads ‘Greenwich Hospital Standard Reservoir’.
Its design capitalised on Greenwich Park’s unique geology, where water naturally filters through gravel and sand layers before being forced to the surface. Conduits intercepted this natural water flow, likely visible as springs on the hillside.
This ingenious system highlights the engineering marvels of its time, hidden in plain sight within one of London’s most famous parks.
To see more videos and stories from our London’s Hidden Secrets project, see the topic page here.